# Sign Regulations in Sandstone, Minnesota

Sign permit rules, size and height limits, setbacks, and ordinance citations for Sandstone, Minnesota, compiled by PermitPal from the jurisdiction's published municipal code.

- **Jurisdiction:** Sandstone, Minnesota (MN)
- **Canonical page:** https://permitpal.io/sign-regulations/minnesota/sandstone
- **Data last verified:** 2025-04-20

## At a glance

Sandstone, Minnesota regulates 29 sign types across 6 zoning districts. Billboards in the Professional/Light Industrial Business Park, Prospective Interchange Development District (for commercial uses only) zoning district are capped at 35 ft (max may be increased by Planning Commission/City Council) tall and 300 sq ft, with a 500 ft from other billboards, 300 ft from residential setback (Sec. § 162.06(F)(10)). Most commercial signs in Sandstone require a permit.

## Sign rules by zoning district (6 zones)

| Zoning District | Sign Types Regulated | Max Height | Max Area | Permit Required |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| General Regulations For All Zones | 11 | 40 ft (flagpole) | 48 sq ft (residential), 64 sq ft (all other districts) | — |
| Traditional and Suburban Residential Districts, Prospective Interchange Development District (for residential and public recreational uses), Public Recreation/Open Space District | 4 | 6 ft | 48 sq ft | — |
| Historic Downtown District | 6 | 25 ft | 9 sq ft | — |
| Industrial District | 7 | 25 ft | 100 sq ft | — |
| Highway Mixed Use District | 10 | 25 ft | 120 sq ft (for all signs combined) | — |
| Professional/Light Industrial Business Park, Prospective Interchange Development District (for commercial uses only) | 10 | 35 ft (max may be increased by Planning Commission/City Council) | 300 sq ft | — |

## Zone-by-zone sign requirements (sample of 3 of 6 zones)

### General Regulations For All Zones

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Construction Project Sign | — | 48 sq ft (residential), 64 sq ft (all other districts) | — | — | One per street frontage | On site of construction project | — | § 162.05(D)(1) |
| Building Nameplate | — | 2 sq ft | — | — | One per occupancy | Attached to building | — | § 162.05(D)(2) |
| Election Signs | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | § 162.05(D)(3) |
| Commercial Yard Sign (Residential District) | — | 15 sq ft | — | — | One per property | Yard of residential property | — | § 162.05(D)(5) |
| Commercial Yard Sign (All Other Districts) | — | 32 sq ft | — | — | One per property | Property located in any other zoning district | — | § 162.05(D)(5) |
| Window Sign | — | — | — | — | — | In window | — | § 162.05(D)(6) |
| Flag | 40 ft (flagpole) | 40 sq ft (flagpole), 20 sq ft (wall) | — | — | 3 per property (flagpole); 1 per property (wall) | On flagpole or wall | — | § 162.05(D)(8) |
| Small Non-Commercial Sign | — | <5 sq ft | — | — | No explicit limit, but one per parcel implied | Any parcel | — | § 162.05(D)(10) |

### Highway Mixed Use District

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign | 25 ft | 100 sq ft | — | — | One per building, plus one/additional per 300 ft over 300 ft | On premises; must not project beyond property lines | — | § 162.06(E)(2) |
| Wall Sign or Electric Awning Sign | — | — | — | — | One | On building wall or awning | — | § 162.06(E)(3) |
| Projecting Sign | — | — | — | — | — | Projecting from building | — | § 162.06(E)(4) |
| Roof Sign | 20% of building height | — | — | — | — | On roof | — | § 162.06(E)(5) |
| Under-Canopy Sign | — | 8 sq ft | — | — | One per occupancy/entrance | Suspended beneath canopy, ceiling, roof or marquee | — | § 162.06(E)(6) |
| Incidental Sign | — | 4 sq ft aggregate per occupancy | — | — | — | — | — | § 162.06(E)(7) |
| Directional/Information Sign | — | 12 sq ft | — | — | One | On site | — | § 162.06(E)(8) |
| Total Sign Area Limit | — | 120 sq ft (for all signs combined) | — | — | — | Per property | — | § 162.06(E)(9) |

### Professional/Light Industrial Business Park, Prospective Interchange Development District (for commercial uses only)

| Sign Type | Max Height | Max Area | Max Width | Setback | Signs Allowed | Location | Permit Required | Ordinance Citation |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Freestanding Sign | 25 ft (can be increased to 75 ft for on-premise signs within 1,000 ft of a controlled freeway or to 25 ft above freeway grade, whichever is less) | 100 sq ft | — | — | One per building, plus one/additional per 300 ft over 300 ft | On premises; must not project beyond property lines | — | § 162.06(F)(3), (11) |
| Wall Sign or Electric Awning Sign | — | — | — | — | One | On building wall or awning | — | § 162.06(F)(4) |
| Projecting Sign | — | — | — | — | — | Projecting from building | — | § 162.06(F)(5) |
| Roof Sign | 20% of building height | — | — | — | — | On roof | — | § 162.06(F)(6) |
| Under-Canopy Sign | — | 8 sq ft | — | — | One per occupancy/entrance | Suspended beneath canopy, ceiling, roof or marquee | — | § 162.06(F)(7) |
| Directional/Information Sign | — | 12 sq ft | — | — | One | On site | — | § 162.06(F)(9) |
| Billboard | 35 ft (max may be increased by Planning Commission/City Council) | 300 sq ft | — | 500 ft from other billboards, 300 ft from residential | No explicit limit, but property area limits apply | On site in PLI Business Park and PID. Not within 300 ft of residential property or 500 ft of other billboards. | — | § 162.06(F)(10) |
| Total Sign Area Limit (All Signs Including Billboards) | — | 300 sq ft | — | — | — | Per property | — | § 162.06(F)(12) |

## Prohibited signs in Sandstone

- It is unlawful for any person to erect, place or maintain a sign in the city, except in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
- Abandoned signs are prohibited in all districts.
- Search lights are prohibited in all districts (except as allowed in § 162.06).
- Signs imitating or resembling official traffic or government signs or signals are prohibited.
- Snipe signs or signs attached to trees, telephone poles, public benches, streetlights or placed on any public property or public right-of-way are prohibited.
- Signs placed on vehicles or trailers parked or located for the primary purpose of displaying the sign are prohibited (does not apply to allowed portable signs or to signs or lettering on buses, taxis or vehicles operating during the normal course of business).
- Flashing signs are prohibited.
- Inflatable devices are prohibited.
- Off-premises signs are prohibited, except for billboards and off-premises signs located in the Professional Light/Industrial Business Park and Prospective Interchange Development Districts as allowed.
- No sign, unless erected by or required by a government agency or temporarily erected to protect the health and safety of the public (emergency/warning signs), shall be located within or above any public rights-of-way or on any public property or utility pole, except for projecting wall signs complying with code.
- No sign shall be located as to obscure any existing sign.
- No sign shall be attached to or placed upon any building so as to obstruct any window, door, or fire escape, or be attached to any fire escape.
- No sign shall impede pedestrian access to or use of an established sidewalk.
- A sign shall not be located within 50 feet of any street, traffic sign or signal, intersection, driveway, or crosswalk unless it can be demonstrated that it will not interfere with driver or pedestrian visibility or distract drivers.
- A sign may not be placed or designed so as to simulate or interfere with traffic-control devices or official highway directional/information signs (specifically referenced for the Highway Mixed Use, Professional/Light Industrial Business Park, and Prospective Interchange Development Districts).
- It is unlawful to mar, injure, deface, destroy or place or cause to be placed any advertising device or representation of any kind upon any fence, tree, guide posts or boards, sign boards, awnings, lamp posts, lamp or lanterns, street signs, telephone poles or electric poles upon or along any public place in the city.
- The use of any portion of a tower for signs other than warning or equipment information is prohibited.

## Signs exempt from permit in Sandstone

- This chapter does not regulate official traffic or government signs.
- This chapter does not regulate the copy and message of signs.
- This chapter does not regulate signs not intended to be viewed from a public right-of-way.
- This chapter does not regulate window displays, product dispensers and point of purchase displays, scoreboards on athletic fields, gravestones, barber poles, commemorative plaques, the display of street numbers, or any display or construction not defined as a sign.
- A permit is not required for the maintenance of a sign or for a change of copy on painted, printed or changeable copy signs.
- One non-illuminated sign for each street frontage of a construction project, within specified area limits and removal timelines, is exempt from permit requirements.
- One non-illuminated attached building nameplate per occupancy, not exceeding two square feet, is exempt from permit requirements.
- Signs with a non-commercial message posted during specified election periods are exempt from permit requirements.
- Government signs are exempt from permit requirements.
- One sign with a commercial message displayed in the yard of property in a residential district not exceeding 15 square feet (and in other districts not exceeding 32 square feet), with removal within 15 days after closing on sale or lease, is exempt from permit requirements.
- Window signs are exempt from permit requirements.
- Banners, pennants and festoons are exempt from permit requirements.
- Flags on flagpoles, not exceeding 40 square feet (with up to 3 flags per property), and wall-mounted flags (one per property, not exceeding 20 square feet), are exempt from permit requirements.
- Temporary special events signs and decorations for special events, grand openings or holidays, within specific erection and removal timeframes, are exempt from permit requirements.
- One sign smaller than five square feet in sign area displaying only non-commercial messages and not illuminated is exempt from permit requirements.

## Sign plan & submission notes

- A site plan with measurements showing the proposed location of the sign along with the locations and dimensions of all existing signs on the same premises is required as part of every sign permit application (§162.21 D).
- A variance request may require a hearing before the City Council (§ 162.26).
- For billboards in the Professional/Light Industrial Business Park and Prospective Interchange Development Districts, a conditional use permit is required, and design standards established by the Planning Commission must be followed (§162.06(F)(10)(g,h)).
- No explicit mention of a 'Master Sign Plan' is made, but sign permit applications must include a site plan and may require variance or conditional use processes for deviations or special sign types.

## Full detail

This page publishes an overview of every zoning district plus a sample of 3 districts in full. Complete zone-by-zone requirements for all 6 zoning districts in Sandstone — every sign type, every field — are available with a free PermitPal account: https://app.permitpal.io/?address=Sandstone+MN&override=true&utm_source=landing&utm_medium=city-page&utm_campaign=city-sandstone

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